The New World

Why do we care? Two possible reasons come immediately to mind: With all this talk of our own planet dying and running out of resources it seems plausible for us, as a group, to start looking for somewhere else to pillage. The other is to cement the seemingly permanent, irreconcilable chasms that have developed between us, with the only reasonable option being, that some of us move away. As such, we could toss a coin to determine whether Republicans or Democrats would be required to seek greener pastures on a suitable exoplanet. Or, Islamists could decide that rather than stoning the infidels to death, they could be shipped en masse off to Corot 7b. …you get the idea.

We’re stoking a Deus ex machina fantasy because, in many ways, we’ve managed to turn our fair Eden into a holy hell. Our desire now, when you come right down to the nub of it, is either to escape or expel. Our planet has become too small for us all to coexist and there is no longer a New World to set sail for within the known edges of the earth.

Beyond that, we fear a dousing of fire and brimstone that a significant portion of us feels is just ahead - the just reward for our excess and sin. I dare say, a war is inevitable at this point. It happens when things start falling apart as they have. This, however, is not our fear. We’ve had wars in the past, all of which we’ve been able to win or explain away. The next one, many of us feel, we’re likely to lose outright. How to deal with defeat other than to dream of new worlds, for the opportunity of a fresh start; ironically, with the same parameters in place - the same experiment done over and over again, each time hoping for a different outcome.